Why are bumble bees hovering in the same spots around my house?

For two days in a row, there has been one bee hovering just outside our back entrance, nowhere near any flowers and another bee hovering outside our bathroom window on the second floor in the front of our house. They hover in these spots for hours until night comes. Any ideas what the heck is going on?Why are bumble bees hovering in the same spots around my house?
I've noticed the same phenomenon in my backyard and wondered why. There is this one ';bumble bee'; you know the big ones that seems to do a circuit by the back steps around and around then it just hovers.





I did a search and found this information:





Patrol Flying and Scent Marking





The patrol flight of the male bumble bee begins each morning. He begins by flying a route and scent marking particular objects. The type of objects chosen is species specific and can vary by position within the habitat, height above the ground, or kind of vegetation. After repeated scent marking for 2-3 hr, an individual male-specific flight route has been established (Svensson 1980). The male will continue ';flying characteristic routes, circuiting the same flight path, pausing on the wing'; (Prys-Jones %26amp; Corbet 1987) at the scent marked objects.





Flight routes of males of different bumble bees species will often overlap and it is therefore necessary for diversity in the behavior of males on patrol flights. Bringer (1973) noted that there seem to be many differences in the choice of habitat and behavior in territorial flight among the Bombus species, which may be factors of importance for the maintenance of the isolation between species.





Sounds plausible.Why are bumble bees hovering in the same spots around my house?
Yes, the bee is looking for a place to nest at this time of year. She may find an animal burrow or similar hole in the ground, or may locate an opening in your house siding, etc. Once they find a cavity, they will start a new colony.